Are you living amongst clutter?

Most of us know that clutter is not beneficial to the home. However, most people don’t realise exactly how many negative effects a cluttered home can have on the health of those living in that kind of environment.

According to studies, most people see their homes and the things they own as an extension of themselves and look to their possessions for comfort. So it makes sense that if your home is messy and the items you own are not placed with purpose, then the environment itself can have a huge effect on how you feel.

The same studies showed that excessive clutter can actually trap a person in a physical and psychological dysfunctional home environment which can cause really horrible feelings such as alienation and distress.

Other studies also showed that clutter can have far-reaching effects including:

• Making you stressed
• Encouraging you to comfort eat
• Making lung issues worse because of dust
• Making a home more of a fire risk
• Causing stress in your relationship
• Making your children embarrassed of their home
• Making you more isolated as you are less likely to invite friends round
• Preventing promotion if the clutter spreads to work
• Decreasing productivity
• Contributes to disorganisation

Clutter is a really bad thing that can have negative effects on your life. But that doesn’t mean you have to live with it. Luckily, clutter is one of the easiest things you can get rid of and in getting rid of it and learning to keep it at bay, you could find that there are lots of great benefits including:

• Remembering how much space there is in your home
• The children having more space to play
• The house smelling fresher
• There is less dust so respiratory issues get better
• You may feel comfortable inviting friends over
• You find it easier to find things
• Your bills cost less because the heat is able to reach the whole room
• You feel less stressed in a clean and clear environment

How To Declutter Your Home

Are you thinking of decluttering but don’t know where to start? Don’t worry, the thought of decluttering an entire house is something that most people would feel overwhelmed by. Instead, why don’t you declutter in steps?

Take a look at these suggested decluttering steps to help you make a plan to clear your home:

1. Accept

Sometimes it can be hard to accept that there is a problem and that you do need to get the house in order. Clutter can get worse very quickly and it can be so overwhelming it is easier to ignore it. Accept that you need to make a change and allow yourself to understand exactly how it will help you in the long run.

2. Make Time

Make the time to declutter, whether that is one room at a time or the whole house in one weekend. Commit to decluttering when you have planned so that you are almost forcing yourself to get the job done.

3. Enlist Help

You do not have to do this on your own. Ask friends and family to help you declutter so that the job is not as huge. Get lots of biscuits, treats and tea in so that you can all take lots of breaks together between decluttering sessions.

4. Prepare

Get the tools you need to declutter. Boxes, bags, marigolds – whatever you need to get the job done, get it all in stock so there is no excuse to take a break and leave the job today, then tomorrow, then the next day… (you know how it goes!).

5. Get The Job Done

The day/weekend/week has come for you to declutter. As not to waste anything, you will want to separate your things into piles for keeping, selling, throwing away and putting into storage, if you have a storage unit. Try to be really firm with yourself, considering whether or not the item you are keeping hold of is going to benefit your life. Once everything is sorted, place everything that is no longer to be stored in your home, in the shed or garage. Bags ready for the car boot, boxes ready for storage, or items for charity: all clutter that no longer belongs in your house. You can then set a date to sell/give away/store the items in the future.

6. Dance

You can now dance/twerk/jazz hands your way around your new, clean home!

Preventing Your Home From Getting Cluttered Again

Now you have done the hard bit, there are lots of things you can do to prevent your home from becoming cluttered again such as:

Give The Whole Home A Clean

Clean everything as though you were selling your home on. Those beautiful glass sliding doors from Vufold.co.uk that had papers piled up against them can now shine light through them, and be cleaned to gleam and brighten your home. The sections of that expensive luxury carpet you treated yourself to, that haven’t seen the light of day for months, can be vacuumed and enjoyed. The windowsills cluttered with ornaments can be dusted. The clean and fresh home you create will not be something you want to jeopardise by cluttering it up again.

Be Mindful With Your Purchases

Being mindful with your purchases will stop you from mindlessly buying things and letting them clutter your home again. Take a look at groundbreaking hit Minimalism: A Documentary About The Important Things to reconsider your consumer habits, and align your values with the way you buy things.

Process Incoming Items Straight Away

If you have papers and letters, don’t just put them in a pile, process them straight away. Get a notice board to pin TO DO’s on and recycle papers after you have read them. It might be hard at first, but processing items straight away will stop them becoming clutter, and it will help you stay organised.

Simplicity involves unburdening your life, and living more lightly with fewer distractions that interfere with a high quality life, as defined uniquely by each individual. – Linda Breen Pierce

According to statistics, in the last year, 74% of people have felt so stressed they felt unable to cope. Within the same study, it was also revealed that half of those who feel stressed, also feel depressed and 37% felt lonely.

As a country, we all have so much to contend with already, we don’t need a cluttered home to add to those issues. In fact, we need a fresh, clear sanctuary to spend time in and distress.

Make plans today to mindfully minimise the clutter in your home, for a cleaner, clearer space to enjoy with your family. Your physical and mental health could depend on it.